Haunted Stereo - Lock The Doors/On A Pin

Label: Sotones
Release date: 17/05/10
Link: Myspace
Providing further evidence that Southampton record label Sotones is some sort of goldmine but instead of gold, they have lots of good bands, which will be more reliable than gold prices anyway, this double A-side from talented indie-folk sextet Haunted Stereo shows off two quite different sides of the band, and who doesn't love that sort of variety? Surely only some joyless misanthropist who, when not laughing at wounded puppies spends ...

Label: Sotones
Release date: 17/05/10
Link:Myspace
Providing further evidence that Southampton record label Sotones is some sort of goldmine but instead of gold, they have lots of good bands, which will be more reliable than gold prices anyway, this double A-side from talented indie-folk sextet Haunted Stereo shows off two quite different sides of the band, and who doesn't love that sort of variety? Surely only some joyless misanthropist who, when not laughing at wounded puppies spends most of their day stepping on flowers and then systematically salting the earth to destroy all possibility of life, and why should we care what those sort of people think?
The running time for 'Lock The Doors' is a tad generous for a single, falling just short of six minutes but it's adventurous enough to hold attention. It starts sounding like someone throwing a violin in a whirlpool and the band's obvious fondness for all things nautical is hinted by the staggering introduction sounding like particularly tumultuous tides. The real treat here is the almost funky driving bass line that sounds like an inverted attempt at the theme from 'Jaws', complete with piano and guitars. It's a strong single but perhaps not worth the prolonged running time.
'On A Pin' stands out as the superior of the two singles, a significantly brighter, lighter number than its counterpart. It is certainly a more streamlined effort, starting small and gradually building throughout, adding more and more layers as it goes. It's the more obvious pop song of the two singles but this shows that Haunted Stereo are worth keeping an eye out for, if they can produce two songs as good as this without feeling a vain urge to release them separately, they must have a few more like this to come.